Heaven’s Doorway
Three weeks previously, I was at Karen & George’s for a week to help with Mom and give them some respite. Mom was with us in body, but the dementia had taken so much away from this dear one. The only one she recognized occasionally, was Karen, her daughter.
Mom could still manage her walker to the kitchen for a few bites of food. Her favorite evening meal was cake, ice cream and coffee. Hospice was serving the family well with regular visits from a nurse, a music therapist, and a chaplain.
The day I left for home, I said to Karen: “I am a phone call away. When you need me, I will be here for you.” Three weeks later, I received the call from Karen. “Did you mean it when you said you would come if we needed you? We need you.” The next morning, I made my way back to Tulsa.
Things were different this time. When I arrived, Karen and Mom were sitting at the little table in Mom’s bedroom. She was nibbling on a Nutrigrain bar and sipping coffee. Those few bites would be her last.
This time, one of us was always with Mom. When she spoke at all, it was in German, calling out to her Mama and Mary or Molly (her older sisters in heaven).
The next three days, Mom was sleeping more. When awake, she would occasionally look off into the distance and raise a frail arm heavenward. Hospice advised that the end was in sight, but it could still be weeks before she passed.
Since we didn’t know when the end would be, because my family is long-distance away, I invited them to call, and I would put the phone to Granny’s ear, and they could individually speak parting words to her. Her body wasn’t connecting, but I knew her spirit was alive and well and could hear. It was precious to hear each one’s endearing words to their Granny.
Saturday, October 15th
This morning Mom wasn’t rallying at all. We attributed it to the medications. Her breaths were rhythmic, deep breaths in and out.
Karen read me her morning devotion scripture from John 17:4: “I have brought You glory on earth. I have finished the work you gave me to do.” Those words were applicable to Mom AND to Karen, but we didn’t know it would be THIS day. Then Karen reminded me of how much German Mom had been speaking.
That reminded me that my daughter, Staci, who speaks some German, had sent a recording to Mom. I had forgotten to play it for her before now. Around 12 noonish, I held my phone to Mom’s ear and played Staci’s recording. Mom was still in her rhythmic breathing. Staci talked about her newly planted fall garden and giving Granny thanks for teaching her how to garden.
When Staci said “Granny, I have a song for you. It was one you sang to me when I would be in your swimming pool too long and got sunburned. As you soothed me while putting lotion on me, you sang (Staci sang): “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word; just to rest upon His promise…..” AND THEN, no sooner than the words were being sung, Mom’s breaths became less rhythmic and further apart! I ran to get Karen.
In a matter of minutes, we watched her final breaths. She surprised us. I know this was God’s planned day. This precious soldier got to go home where she had dreamed and prayed for so long.
At that precise God-ordained moment, I like to think, that what we see in this photo is the way it looked for Mom. I believe this is the way it will be for us, too! Going through the door from this “temporary home” to our forever “home sweet home” where Jesus and our loved ones will be there welcoming us.
Karen and I were with her to THE END — the end of her earth assignment, but it was NOT the end. It was the beginning of her life ever after. Immediately she went through heaven’s doorway to where her new and perfect body and assignment awaited her.
Mom’s last hour of her time on earth was not the last of her. Rather than being the end of her life, it was her birth-day into eternal life. And here’s the best news for us. We’ll walk through that door to our home sweet home one day, too. Our loved ones, there before us, will be on the sidelines cheering for us as we cross our Finish Line.